Expert Answers

Dear Teri, the best indication that you daughter is ready to move out of DryNites is an increase in the number of consecutive nights where she wakes up dry. With respect to nighttime waking - we know that lifting or taking children to the toilet during the night is really a form of management and does little in the way of helping children to stop wetting the bed, and can at times prolong the bedwetting process. As I am sure you are fully aware – children continue to wet the bed at night until they either learn to wake or their bladder learns to hold onto the amount of urine their kidneys produce. Lifting at night means children do not get the chance to get used to the signals that the bladder sends to the brain telling them to wake-up and empty their bladder nor does the bladder have the opportunity to stretch and develop. If you do want to pursue with this approach I would recommend that you try and vary the time which you take her so that her bladder does not get conditioned to needing to empty at the same time each night; perhaps try talking her a little earlier to see if her bladder is capable of storing urine for extended periods. To ensure she gets sufficient hours of sleep, you could try putting here to bed a little earlier. Check with her teacher to see if she appears overtired during the day, as this will be a good indicator of whether or not the nighttime waking is impacting negatively on her sleep patterns. All the best!
Regards,
Dr Cathrine

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